It's Here...

It's here. It's here. It's really here...

I wish you all the happiest day full of love and laughter with those you hold dear. I hope Santa was good to you and yours and you have a glorious CHRISTmas!

Merry Christmas Friends...

Merry Christmas sweet friends! I cannot believe the time is almost here to celebrate the birth of Jesus and Christmas.

The presents have been bought, wrapped, sent, and placed under the tree.

The stockings and trimmings are hung.

The groceries have been bought and some prepared for holiday feasts.

The cookies and holiday baking happened, leaving a flour cloud and some oh so yummy baked goods.

The elf has come each day and given his report back to the big guy on the minis behavior.

The nativity scene has been set and the stories have been read.

The holiday clothing has been cleaned and ready.

The carols have been sung and continue to be sung ALL. DAY. LONG. Some with some interesting and creative new lyrics.

The family is on their way.

Christmas is really almost here.

I wish you all a VERY Merry Christmas and hope you get to spend it with those you love most.

The Big Letter

It is our first year writing our letter to Jolly Ol' St. Nick or Santa Claus or Kris Kringle. We have been working on this for a while and have finally finished and have put in the mail to the North Pole. I hope the mail service to the North Pole is better than the regular USPS or else Santa might not even receive by next Christmas.

Mini #1 has been cutting things out of catalogs and magazines for a while. This weekend we began the task of writing the actual letter. He wrote everything and it took us a few tries to ensure the letters were written correctly.

Me: "Dear Santa...D-E-A-R Sssss (what says Ssssss)-A-N-T-A."

Mini #1: "This is going to take a while"

Me: "You're doing a great job. Let's say Hi." (He writes it.)

"How about writing I love you."

Mini #1:(Complete BLANK expression.) "Why? Why I love you? I don't know Santa."

Me: "Sure you do. Well, let's write something kind. "

Mini #1: "Thank you. That is kind and nice manners."

Me: "That is perfect." (We go through all the motions of writing the words thank you.)

Mini #1: (Pasting the cutouts on to his letter. One of which was a new dining room table set that he says is for me. Wish he would have included diamond earrings instead, but it is the thought that counts.)

"I don't know why you wanted me to write I Love You. I don't know if I love him. He isn't in my family."

Me: "Santa does love you. He watches over us and loves us all."

Mini #1:"I don't think so, Mom."

5 years ago today...

December 6, 2005 is the day that changed my life forever. It is the day that I welcomed by first child, a beautiful baby boy. It is the day that I became a mom!

Today is my sweet little boy's 5th birthday! I can't believe that my little boy is getting so big. I am so proud of him and so honored to be his mom!

I am really having a hard time with him being 5...FIVE! It is so "old." FIVE is like a big milestone and there is no turning back to being a baby. I have noticed such a change in him over the past month or so. In true family fashion, we have been celebrating this big day for several days...several celebrations and activites with family and friends lead to several birthday desserts which is PERFECT for Mini #1!

5 Things that I love about my 5 year old:

1. I love the way he smiles and gets so excited about the smallest things. He has such an innocent and complete joy that fills him. He has an infectious smile and laugh.

2. I love his outward shows of affection. He will randomly hug and kiss me throughout the day, come up to tell me he loves me, and even tells me that I am the greatest mom. (all without me asking or bribery.) It warms my heart and makes me love him so much more. I am fearful that in the coming years these will become fleeting moments, so I need to savor them now.

3. I love the way he thinks he is the best at just about anything he tries. Have you ever seen that commercial where the little boy bombs in his soccer game and his parents are all worried that he will be sad and get him a treat and then the boys comes over...parents are ready to console and the little boy shouts "I WAS AWESOME." That is Mini #1. Let's just say that he is not the next David Beckham, Tom Brady, or Mark McGuire, but he enjoys giving everything a try and is actually quite the whiz on the bicycle.

4. I love his love for reading. He is so smart...way smarter than I am. He is always reading, wants to know more, and could sit for hours reading to himself. Mr. and I have already caught ourselves googling things more than once in order to be able to answer a question or explain more about something to him. I am fearful about the years to come...I might need to go back to school to get another degree in hopes of still being ahead of him in a few years.

5. I love the way he plays with his sister. He can aggravate her (she sure knows which buttons to push on him!) and can not always be the most kind, but he does love her and the moments that they share now, the moments playing together are priceless. He will also help her do things that she is either too short to do or just not old enough to do. He will hold her hand while we are walking and will hug her until she screams while trying to squirm away. He is a big brother!!

Happy, Happy Birthday sweet boy! I love you more than you will ever know.